Additive delivery control systems and methods

ABSTRACT

A modular flow monitoring package (MFMP) is provided for use in an additive delivery system. The MFMP may be manufactured as an add-on to be added to an existing additive delivery system, or may be incorporated into a cartridge or container structure. The MFMP includes a flow sensor for sensing flow of a base fluid and user actuator position sensors for sensing the position of one or more user actuated additive flow adjustment levers. A visual display, which may comprise an array of multi-color LED&#39;s may convey information to a user that is relevant to a user&#39;s use of the additive delivery system or the user&#39;s nutritional needs. Such information may include a current dosage of additive, being delivered, whether a recommended dosage of additive has been consumed, remaining life of a cartridge or supply of additive, and other data relative to health or performance monitoring.

STATEMENT REGARDING COPYRIGHT

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The disclosure relates to dispensing and delivery systems for beveragesand other products. The disclosure further relates to dispensing anddelivery systems in which an additive, such as flavorings, concentratesor supplements, may be provided in replaceable cartridges and mixed witha base fluid, such as water, as the base fluid is dispensed and/orconsumed from a container and wherein one-way flow of base fluid isprovided to prevent additive from mixing with the base fluid supply,which may thus be used with different additive delivery systems. Thedisclosure further relates to dispensing and delivery systems thatprovide for user adjustment of the amount of additive that is mixed withthe base fluid. The disclosure further relates to user interfaces anduser interface features for enabling user monitoring and control ofadditive dosage mixed with a base fluid during dispensing. Thedisclosure further relates to systems and methods for guiding userdecisions on additive dispersing based on various inputs including butnot limited to gender, height, weight, genetic makeup, hydration andelectrolyte levels, historical nutritional and exercise information, andreal-time activity information provided by smartphones, fitnesstrackers, smart devices, etc. The disclosure further relates to methodsof utilizing additive dosage adjustment features in nutritionalapplications, for example, to enhance performance in athletic and otheractivities by humans.

2. Prior Art

Additive delivery systems for providing a user-adjusted flow of anadditive to a flow of as it is dispensed from a container are generallyknown. Such systems may be applied to beverage mixing and mayincorporate removable cartridges for storing a supply of the additive,such as flavoring, to be added to a base fluid, such as water. Exampledevices and methods are disclosed in US Published Application No.2017/0296988, published on Oct. 19, 2017 titled ADJUSTABLE ADDITIVECARTRIDGE SYSTEMS AND METHODS and U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,498,086 and9,795,242.

There is a need to enhance the user interface and additive dosagemonitoring and control features of additive delivery systems, such asthose described in the aforementioned publications. There is a furtherneed to utilize such user interface and additive dosage monitoring andcontrol features to support and make recommendations regarding changing,real-time nutritional needs and general well-being, for physicalactivities (including athletic activities.)

SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the disclosure, a modular flow monitoringpackage (MFMP) is provided for use in an additive delivery system. TheMFMP may be manufactured as an add-on to be added to an existingadditive delivery system, or may be incorporated into a cartridge orcontainer structure. The MFMP may include a flow path defined thru it,and an outer housing that protects internal components. A tube defines aflow-thru path in the housing. A flow rate monitoring device is providedfor sensing flow in the tube and may comprise a magnetic turbine, whichcooperates with a Hall effect sensor and supporting circuitry housedwithin the housing and mounted on an internal circuit board. An internalpower supply and an inductive charging circuit may be incorporated intothe MFMP. The inductive charging circuit may include a wire coilextending within or just inside an outer wall of the housing. The coilcan be an air core wound wire or a printed circuit coil routed about theoutside diameter of the printed circuit board to form a printed circuitcoil. The MFMP also includes user actuator position sensors for sensingthe position of one or more user actuated additive flow adjustmentlevers or other structures. It should be noted that a single digitalmagnetic sensor can also be used to sense the position of all threemagnetics by mapping these fields and noting the feedback based on eachlocation and positioning possibility. A visual display, which maycomprise an array of multi-color LED's is incorporated into the MFMP andmay be on an upper wall thereof so as to be visible to a user when theMFMP is in an installed position in an additive delivery system. Thevisual display may convey information to a user that is relevant to auser's use of the additive delivery system or the user's nutritionalneeds. Although we demonstrate individual LED's other displaytechnologies may be incorporated to allow such positioning feedback.This information can also be indicated via the mobile application. Suchinformation may include a current dosage of additive, being delivered,whether a recommended dosage of additive has been consumed, remaininglife of a cartridge or supply of additive, and other data relative tohealth or performance monitoring. The MFMP may be adapted to monitormore than one additive being supplied to a base fluid and correspondingnumber of additive cartridges. Additionally, the type of dose can bemanually selected or optionally detected by an RFID reader that readsthe package ID, mfg. dates, use by dates and type of product foridentification and authentication. This information will be passwordprotected much like the ATMEL TK5551 RFID transponder relating topackage information to be displayed.

According to another aspect, the MFMP may communicate with externaldevices and systems to enhance the user experience. Such devices mayinclude smartphones, exercise equipment, heart rate and blood pressuremonitors, fitness trackers and “smart” devices, such ascomputer-equipped exercise equipment. Additional mobile information maybe displayed that the product may not or cannot displayed. Informationthat may be displayed includes total dosage over periods of time,consumption accumulators and dosage accumulators. Relevant dosageinformation may be utilized in combination with a personal profile,hydration and electrolyte levels, historical nutritional and exerciseinformation, and real-time activity information to develop tailoreddosage recommendations for a user. Smartphone apps or other applicationsfor computing platforms may be utilized to facilitate user interactionwith the MFMP. A use-case for this application could be an individualwho participates in cycling on a regular basis. By measuring performancedata including speed, peak output, distance covered, heart rate, lacticacid production (measured through fitness trackers, onboard bicyclecomputers, and other smart devices) and comparing this to additive data(e.g. electrolyte dosage) for the same periods of time, correlations tooptimal electrolyte dosage could be obtained and relayed to the userthrough the application.

According to another aspect, a recommendation system utilizing the MFMPmay accept a number of data sets as input to determine real-timehydration and nutritional needs of a user and may make recommendation onadditive dosage in real-timer as a user is engaged in physical activity.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other attendant advantages and features of the inventionwill be apparent from the following detailed description together withthe accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals representlike elements throughout. It will be understood that the description andembodiments are intended as illustrative examples and are not intendedto be limiting to the scope of invention, which is set forth in theclaims appended hereto.

FIG. 1 is a front, exploded view of an example dispenser environmentsuitable for application of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a front assembled view of an example internal additivedelivery system comprising an MFMP according to an aspect of theinvention.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a dual cartridge additive delivery systemenvironment suitable for application of an MFMP according to an aspectof the invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the dual cartridge additive delivery system ofFIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is cross-sectional view of an example MFMP according to aspectsof the invention.

FIG. 6 is a top view of an example MFMP.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a system for utilizing an MFMPaccording to aspects of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a detail of an example user interface for indicating additivelevels, charge capacity and end-of-life conditions of an example MFMPaccording to aspects of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of an example logic flow for an MFMP accordingto aspects of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a representation of example data fields that may be monitoredor input into systems utilizing an MFMP according to aspects of theinvention.

FIG. 11 depicts an example data set of daily activity, calorie intakeand calories burned as well as body weight that may be utilized in asystem according to aspects of the invention.

FIG. 12 depicts an example data set of energy (calories) expended as afunction of walking or running speed that may be utilized in a systemaccording to aspects of the invention.

FIG. 13 depicts user interface displays of a medication dosingapplication on a smartphone according to aspects of the invention.

FIG. 14 depicts user interface displays of a diet application on asmartphone according to aspects of the invention.

FIG. 15 depicts user interface displays of a flavor and hydrationapplication on a smartphone according to aspects of the invention.

FIG. 16 depicts a user interface display of an application that maydisplay overall statistics and data gathered for best performanceaccording to aspects of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a front, exploded view of an example dispenser environment 10suitable for application of a MFMP according to aspects of theinvention. A dispenser, such as a drinking water bottle, may include acontainer body 12 defining an interior volume for containing a basefluid (water) and a screw-fit cap 14 having a spout 16. Referringadditionally to FIG. 2, and additive delivery system 100 may becooperatively associated with the dispenser environment 10. The additivedelivery system 100 may include an intake tube 104 for conveying basefluid upward and through an annular cartridge 102 disposed around theintake tube 104. The cartridge may include a port on an interior thereof(not shown in FIG. 2) which communicates additive into a mixing zonewithin the but 104. The rotational position of the cartridge 102 may beadjusted by a user using an actuator, in a manner that will bedescribed, to adjust the amount of additive being added to the basefluid as the base fluid flows in the intake tube 104. According toaspects of the invention, a modular flow monitoring package (MFMP) 200may be cooperatively associated with the additive delivery system 100for enhancing user monitoring and control of the additive. monitoringthe dosage of additive.

FIGS. 3 and 4 depict details of an example dual cartridge additivedelivery system that may be a suitable environment for use of the MFMPaccording to aspects of the invention. FIG. 3 is a top view and FIG. 4is a front view. First and second cartridges 102.1 and 102.2 may becylindrical, annular containers disposed concentrically relative tointake tube 104. Each may have a port 126.1 and 126.2 to permit flow ofrespective additives from an interior space into the intake tube formixing with a base fluid. The respective flows of additive from thecartridges 102.1 and 102.2 may be controlled with control arms 120.1 and120.2 which are attached to annular stems 124.1 and 124.2 that extendconcentrically downward and may have ports defined for selectivealignment with respective ports on the cartridges 102.1 and 102.2.Rotational movement of the control arms 120.1 and 120.2 thus may resultin adjustment of the respective flows of additive from cartridges 102.1and 102.2 into the flow path of base fluid within the intake tube.Control arms may include magnetic elements 122.1 and 122.2 for enablingtheir actuation/movement to be controlled from outside the sealedhousing 210 in which they reside. Cartridges 102.1 and 102.2 may beprovided with machine readable identifying information, including RFIDtags, bar codes or other electronically stored information that mayidentify cartridge type, flavor type, date and other useful informationto the MFMP. Suitable reading components may be incorporated into theMFMP to read the machine readable identifying information.

FIG. 5 is a cross-section showing further details of an example MFMP200. A flow rate measuring device 230, which may be a magnetic turbine,may be centrally located and mounted for rotational movement in responseto fluid flow within tube 104. A Hall effect sensor 240 may be mountedto detect the rotational rate of the turbine 230 such that datarepresenting the flow rate of base fluid within tube 104 may beobtained. A power supply 250, such as a battery, provides electricalenergy for operation of the internal components of the MFMP 200, whichmay be sealed within a housing 210. A circuit board 245 may support thebattery 250, sensor 240 as well as support electronics that may includea microprocessor, memory, drivers for the visual indicators and radiocomponents for communicating to receivers outside of the housinginterior. A cartridge reader, which may include an RFID reader, may alsobe present on the circuit board to sense the identify of one or morecartridges being used. An inductive charging coil 211 may be installedwithin or adjacent to an outer wall of housing 210 for enablinginductive charging of the power supply 250.

FIG. 6 is a top view of an example MFMP, which includes a number ofvisual indicators 225 mounted such that they may be visible to a userfrom outside the housing and when the unit is installed on an additivedelivery system. An upper wall of housing 210 may be made of a clear,transparent material to permit viewing of the visual indicators, whichmay be mounted on an internal circuit board. Respective sensing magnets127.1 and 127.2 may be included to sense the rotational position ofcontrol arms 120.1 and 120.2. Visual indicators may include an indicatorset (four per set shown in FIGS. 6) 225.1 and 225.2 for each cartridge,such as a plurality of discrete light sources, such as LED's, which maybe multicolored. As will be explained, indicator sets 225.1 and 225.2convey information regarding the additive dosage relative to eachcartridge to a user. Other indicators may be present, including a chargeindicator 227 to indicate the level of charge on the power supply 250.Respective end-of-life (EOL) indicators 229.1 and 229.2 may beassociated with each cartridge indicator set to indicate the EOL of acartridge.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a system for utilizing an MFMPaccording to aspects of the invention. The components of the exampleMFMP are represented in box 200. In this implementation, threecartridges may be utilized and monitored by the MFMP in an additivedelivery system. A central, microprocessor-based control system 260 mayinclude non-volatile memory and an accelerometer and receives inputsfrom the Hall sensor 240, which inductively senses the rotational rateof turbine 230, and actuator arm position sensors 127.1, 127.2 and127.3. Control system 260 also controls a radio interface 264 andwireless inductive charger 211, as well as the visual indicator sets225.

According to aspects of the invention, the MFMP 200 may interface withexercise equipment, fitness trackers and bike computers via radiointerface 264. Radio interface 264 also permits interaction withsmartphones running suitable applications direct radio or via a cloud orwide area network. Cartridge data can be read via RFID and a coil islocated on the printed circuit board. Each cartridge may have an RFDchip with specific type and product data. Venturi positions for dose aretracked magnetically. By keeping sensors and the electronicsintrinsically separate we can design a ultrasonically sealed watertightelectronics package for reliability and ease of use.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example set of patterns for visual indicator setsto indicate status and recommend consumption and dosages of additive.Flashing indicators may be used to indicate that a user should consume.The communication language will show the recommended dosage for youractivity level. By indicating end of life, recommended dose and presentdose we can modify dose behavior based on historical performance andpresent activity. In this example we show the present recommendation asflashing but we may also show the present setting at the same time as asolid. The display also is designed to show life for the cartridge byindicating % of life. These same gas gauge type indicators can be usedto show state of charge (battery life remaining 0-100%) and chargingstate (percentage of charge 0-100%).

FIG. 9 illustrates an example logic flow. The MFMP may typically defaultto a sleep mode at step 902. If movement is detected at 904, the logicproceeds to step 906, if not, the logic loops to 902. At 906, cartridgeidentifiers are read, mix ratio settings may be read from a profilestored in memory, accumulated values, such as volume, calories consumedmay be updated, EOL percentages are computed and battery level issensed. At 908, a monitoring loop is initiated to check for consumptionflow and update accumulated values and ratios. At 910, the logic checksfor an EOL flag being indicated. This may be determined by anaccumulated value of additive being compared to a known additive supply.If yes, at 912, the visual indicator are activated to indicate EOL forthe given cartridge and the logic flows to step 914. If no EOL isflagged at 910, the logic goes directly to decision 914. At 914, thelogic checks whether a timer and consumption mode is desired. At thispoint the decision is made to trigger alarms and notifications. Thetimers are based on flow and consumption time as it relates to the dosesetting. The comparison data can be preset, set over the application ofbrought in through the RFID data. It is ideal to have the consumptiontables come in with the cartridge and reset as the new cartridge isinstalled. If the use accumulator using flow, and dose timeraccumulators when converted to uL or mL are greater than the use tablevalues end of life is indicated. If so, a recommendation is made usingthe indicators at 916 and notification flags are sent to the mobiledevice and/or cloud. At 918, a check is made as to whether thecommunication is interrupted. At 920, the system interfaces to the cloudor mobile device to update a profile, usage data and recommendations aswell as displaying charging indicator of the unit is charging. At 922,new values are updated in an accumulator such as EEPROM. The dose, flowrate and time flowing are accumulated for end of life comparison. Thisaccumulated value is stored in two places as to prevent loss of data andis updated in non-volatile memory after each use. These accumulators arealso for overall flow, flow by dose counters and overall use ofcartridge accumulators (using flow, dose over time) to get to uL or mLof use per drink.

FIG. 10 is a representation of example data sets that may be monitoredor input into systems utilizing an MFMP according to aspects of theinvention. A user profile data set may include height, weight, gender,age, ID Weight, Height, Gender, Age, ID, fitness grade, body mass grade,heart health grade, BMI, Fast mass, Fat free mass, Diet, Eating records,Exercise records, Personal feedback records, Muscle mass history, Bodyfat history. A bottle use profile may include stored preferred mixratios, additive product types, consumption accumulators by ratio A-B-C,overall consumption, tilt time, activity, time between usage, averageuse time. An exercise equipment profile may include parameters for agiven exercise equipment including RMP, number of steps, torque,elevation, incline percentage, kilowatt hours, peak energy required,average energy, temperature, miles, time used, reps, contiguous exercisetimes and KWH expended. A wearable profile may include activity, steps,heart rate, contiguous activity time, overall activity time, max heartrate, resting heart rate. A system aggregator, which may be a mobileapplication or a cloud services based application may receive the datasets as input to generate optimal consumption, suggested consumptionrates, optimal mixes, electrolyte levels, protein and caloric intakerecommendations. The aggregator may also generate or permit the user togenerate reports on use and optimal performance, comparisons to physicaltests, best performance curves, performance enhancement opportunities,etc.

When using the accelerometer the device itself can track walking andrunning gates and can utilize this information and relate it to a mobiledevice.

FIG. 11 depicts an example data set of daily activity, calorie intakeand calories burned as well as body weight that may be utilized in asystem according to aspects of the invention.

FIG. 12 depicts an example data set of energy (calories) expended as afunction of walking or running speed that may be utilized in a systemaccording to aspects of the invention.

FIG. 13 depicts user interface displays of a dynamic sports applicationon a smartphone according to aspects of the invention. The applicationmay present an overview screen (left), a recommendation screen (middle)and an historical results screen (right).

FIG. 14 depicts user interface displays of a medication deliveryapplication on a smartphone according to aspects of the invention. Theapplication may present an overview screen (left) and a recommendationscreen (right).

FIG. 15 depicts user interface displays of a diet management applicationon a smartphone according to aspects of the invention. The applicationmay present an overview screen (left) and a recommendation screen(right).

User interface displays of may also include a flavor and hydrationapplication on a smartphone according to aspects of the invention.

FIG. 16 depicts a user interface display of an application that maydisplay overall statistics and data gathered for best performanceaccording to aspects of the invention.

It should be understood that implementation of other variations andmodifications of the invention in its various aspects may be readilyapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and that the inventionis not limited by the specific embodiments described herein. It istherefore contemplated to cover, by the present invention any and allmodifications, variations or equivalents that fall within the spirit andscope of the claims that follow.

1. A modular flow monitoring package for monitoring and controllingadditive flow in an additive delivery system, the system including atleast one user actuated control for controlling the amount of additiveadded from a cartridge to a base fluid, comprising: a flow sensor forsensing flow of the base fluid; a position sensor for sensing theposition of the user actuated control; a visual indicator for displayingrecommended dosage related information to a user based on the base fluidflow and the position of the user actuated control.
 2. The package ofclaim 1, wherein the visual indicator comprises at least one LED.
 3. Thepackage of claim 1, further comprising an end-of-life indicator forindicating the end-of-life of the cartridge.
 4. The package of claim 1,wherein the flow sensor comprises a magnetic turbine disposed in thebase fluid flow path and a Hall effect sensor for sensing rotation ofthe magnetic turbine.
 5. An additive delivery system comprising: a baseliquid flow path for permitting flow of a base fluid; an additive flowpath for permitting flow of an additive to be mixed with the base liquidas the base liquid flows thru the base liquid flow passage; a flowmeasuring device for measuring flow of the additive; a flow adjustmentdevice for permitting a user to adjust an additive dosage added to thebase fluid; a user interface for conveying information to the user aboutthe additive.
 6. The additive delivery system of claim 5, wherein theuser interface includes a visual display for indicating whether apredetermined consumption of additive has been attained.
 7. The additivedelivery system of claim 5, wherein the user interface includes a visualdisplay for indicating the remaining life of a supply of additive. 8.The additive delivery system claim 5, wherein the user interfacecomprises a plurality of discrete optical indicators.
 9. A method ofdelivering additive comprising: dispensing a base liquid from acontainer; adding an additive in response to the base liquid flowingfrom the container; measuring flow of the additive; adjusting a dosageof additive added to the base fluid; conveying information to a userabout the additive.